Freedom, encouragement, hope – these are the blessings couples experience at Marriage Encounter retreats at Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood, WA. Marriage Encounter is designed to provide a balance of structured teaching, personal sharing by leadership couples, and practical application during the weekend. Most marriage retreats focus on providing informative content, few engage participants in practicing the tools for a healthy marriage during the weekend.

Marriage Encounter brings a small group of couples together in a relaxed teaching format with leadership couples who share openly from their own stories. By hearing how other couples have wrestled through the challenges of communication, trust, forgiveness, etc, participants can strengthen their relationship and gain hope for their own situation.

As one participant exclaimed, “I was particularly moved by the intimate details shared by the leaders. It was helpful to know that others have struggled through equally challenging times and come out stronger.” Another shared, “I loved hearing personal stories from the team couples. Many of the examples helped us to relate and learn from them.”

Ample time is given for participants to reflect upon the content and to engage themselves through listening, writing, and sharing with their partner. Insights into God’s plan for marriage, trust-building, listening and communicating, forgiveness and honor find practical expression through activity during the weekend.

Couples are able to pace themselves and work through the weekend at the level appropriate to them. While such an actively engaging weekend may sound intimidating to some, these times are always surprisingly healing and healthy for participants. Freedom, encouragement, and enrichment make Marriage Encounter weekends an excellent way to breathe life into struggling relationships and also to make good marriages that much better.

“You all have provided hope for us!” one participant shared. And that sums up what Marriage Encounter is all about – equipping couples with the practical insights and tools that give hope for a sustained flourishing marriage.

In 2016, Marriage Encounter is held April 1-3 and October 28-30. Register online at https://www.warmbeach.com/programs/adult-programs/marriage-envounter. For engaged couples contemplating marriage, the sister program, Engaged Encounter, offers couples a chance to invest in the foundation of their marriage. Retreat dates and details are on the website at https://www.warmbeach.com/programs/adult-programs/engaged-encouner .